Yesterday I added a 20gal sump to my octo system and this morning I didn't see her. This afternoon after not seeing her in the morning I went looking ( her favorite spot is in the very back of the tank under a piece of live rock ) she was in her den ( I have to use a mirror to see her ) she was not looking too good. She didn't change colour or move other than breathing. I tried prodding her with a feeding stick and she grabbed on and I dragged her out of her den. Long story short after about 45 min I got her up to the top of the tank. I was sure she didn't have much time left. She had been very limp the whole time no fight other than sucking onto things she came into contact with. As a last effort (suspecting something in the water) I filled a bucket with water from one of my other tanks and gently moved her to the bucket. within about 15 min she was starting to come around and did a little colour change after 45 min she had some strength back and was starting to move. She is now in a critter keeper in another tank and looking better.:wink: All the rest of the inhabitants of her tank all look fine water tests all look good I suspect something toxic in the sump or hose. The sump and all hardware is brand new and well rinsed. The only things in the sump are water and macro algae. I have added three large sacs of carbon directly into the tank in areas of good flow. I need to know if anyone knows a way to test for toxic chemicals in the system or knows another good way to remove them.

someone please help soon she is looking very upset in the small critter keeper. But she sure is active now:lol:

Any chance of copper in the system? copper fittings? (or brass, it is an alloy of copper) Instant Ocean produce a copper test kit.


How old are your other test kits, because your description sounds like a nitrate/ammonia issue.

No metal, all plastic. My test kit isn't new but it's not that old either. How often should you replace them? My nitrate was up just a little but not much instead of 0.1 it was 0.3 ammonia was also low the tank has been running for about 8 months and it's been about 3 weeks since the passing of the my last octopus. The tank she is in now hasn't been tested in 6 years.( If it aint broke don't fix it ) I'm thinking it was straight poisoning from something I failed to rinse well enough. She was just fine before I started messing with the setup. What I need to know is if anyone has a way of testing the toxicity of the water before she goes back in.

It could be anything, so any tests you do would be shots in the dark. Carbon is good, polyfilters may e good or useless, but may make you feel like you are doing something.
It could also be nothing and just an upset octo

When I took her out she wouldn't move on her own she was totally limp other than breathing. Thanks for the help, I run polly all the time in my filter but its due for a change anyhow. She is upset now being in the critter keeper.

What kind of octo?

Aculeatus

I put her back in the tank tonight about 7:30pm, after changing some water and adding some new media to the filter earlier in the day. I watched her a bit but had to go out for a little bit. I came home at 8:50pm and she was nowhere to be seen. She was back in her den at the back of the tank and was a pale tan colour. I reached down to her with a feeding stick and she very lethargically grabbed it but not with much force. I wrestled her out of the back of the tank and back into the critter keeper. I guess she is going to spend another day in my reef tank. ( the fish seem to stress her out a bit she curls her legs around her body in a defensive pose and uses one leg to whip at the fish mostly my thornback cow fish that is very curious and friendly ) I am at a bit of a loss to what the problem is I will pick up a new test kit tomorrow and see, I was also thinking a dead spot in the tank but the water flow all around the tank seems pretty good. All the other inhabitants seem normal ( brittle star, sand star, pistol shrimp, blue leg hermits, snail, the one dam damsel I can't catch, mushrooms, sun polyps, and feeder crabs ) Please if anyone can help with a solution.

I bought a new nitrite and ammonia test. The levels in the tank don,t match the lowest levels on the test table. I have also added 2 sacs of chemi-pure to the filter. Has anyone used this product before? How well did it work?

I bought a new nitrite and ammonia test. The levels in the tank don,t match the lowest levels on the test table. I have also added 2 sacs of chemi-pure to the filter. Has anyone used this product before? How well did it work?

too high? too low??? never used Chemi-pure

I'd try really hard to get that damsel out too, it could be really stressing out your octi.

J

The levels are too low for the test to read. As for the dam damsel oh how I have tried to get it out, I even moved a lion fish from another tank to try and get it there used to be 2 he got 1. The damsel was in with my last octo too and I have never seen it bother either of them in fact it usually steers clear and spends most of it's time hiding. I wish the octo would just eat it and rid me of it.:evil:

Did you use any liquid soap to clean the sump?

Did you use any liquid soap to clean the sump? No of course not. just hot hot water and a sponge. ( a sponge that has only been used in my aquariums )

???????Something must be okay I have aculeatus hatchlings in my sump I thought they were all goners. I hope this means problem solved. As for anyone else with an aculeatus ( mikewise ) My girl has a mantle length of 2.5"-3" so she's pretty full grown and she has been dead and come back to life 2 times and been moved 4 times in the last 3 days. This is not the way I like to do things really I'm just posting this to show how adaptable our pets can be not as a recommended course of action. I know people ( me included ) always worry about moving our pets.:octorun:

well that explains the lethargy, pale colouration etc! congratulations Grandoctopa!

J

No , You misunderstand the eggs are from my last octopus but are in the same system. My adult octopus is back in her tank now and so far so good:fingerscrossed:. Well I guess the chemi-pure carbon and new poly plus a water change did the trick. I still would like to know what the problem was but as long as it stays okay I'm happy. I'll be keeping a close eye on everything.

ohhhhh my mistake. Glad she seems to be doing better though

I don't mean to hijack your thread, but i was curious about the chemi pure as well. I spent a long time setting up a bioball rack, skimmer section and fuge and return chamber. Now my local aquarium society and some people at the LFS are telling me that they can contribute to steady nitrates. So they told me to run chemi-pure. It's apparently worked well for you but i'm so f*@#$ confused... can anyone clear this mess up?

How long have you had aquariums ? If your having success with what you are doing don't change. If your having problems then listen to advice but take it with a grain of salt and use some sense. I have been keeping aquariums for about 20 years and have had fish reach ages of 14 or better but when I first started keeping marine fish I tried to do everything right following advise etc. and all I had were problems. Once I started doing my own thing it got a whole lot easier (keep in mind my 15 years or so experience when I started with salt)now my tanks are bullet proof as was my octo tank till I started messing with it.:banghead::bonk:

Sorry I forgot about the Chemi -Pure I don't know that it did anything for me and also this is this first time I have used it out of desperation. My tank was testing bang on for everything but there was something toxic in the "food service hoses" I had used to hook everything together. It was really nasty too. I usually just stick to the basics live rock in the tank, skimmer,UV sterilizer, canister filter with sponge, carbon, ceramic tubes, and poly wool.

There is only anecdotal evidence that chemi pure can help nitrates (read that as I don't think it does anything). Bioballs and wet drys have fallen out of favor because without regular cleaning the can produce excess nitrates. If you have excess nitrates, then look for solutions, if you don't, don't worry too much.

Thats what I meant but yours was short and sweet.

How regular is regular bio ball cleaning? I heard to wash 1/4 of them out with water is that right? The tank isnt established yet, but i will start a build thread when i can get pics.

When they are dirty enough that you think they need cleaning.8-) Every tank is different and it's hard to come up with standard rules for maintenance.

Cool. I think i'll be able to manage. I can't wait to post pics.